The Irish standard., 1887-06-18
IN FAR COUNTRIES.

| themum upon her doorstep. If she waters
and cares for the flower it is an indication
that his suit is favored, but it it is ignored,
| his case is hopeless.
TIE capital of Germany has adopted a
| law regulating the dimensions Of buildings
to be built within its limits No building
shall cover more than uwo-t thirds of the lcd
! 1t occupies, and the maximum height shall
not exceed seventy feet. All structures
must conform to the law requiring spe-
CITED front elevation. Blocks Of houses
are permitted but in the case of detached
buildings the distance between two ad-
| Joining ones shall be at least eight feet, ii
there are no windows in the SIDE walls,
and at least twenty feet in case the side
walls have windows.
The Orien tails, it is said were the pio-
neers in the art of gliding bool1-covers.
| The Persians are great lovers Of books
and devote much care and thought to the
safe and per feet keeping OF their Libraries.
the books are laid fiat upon shelves, fitted
into inches in the library wall and smut in
by rich hangings attached to the ceiling.
The titles are frequently tooled upon the
edges, usage that is still followed in
some parts of the globe. Upon the floor OF
the Persian library stand book-chests, four
feet il height and in these likewise are
stored the treasures of the collector.
AMONG the numerous collectors OF curl
osities of every kind who abound
in Paris, there is one wealthy virtuoso,
according to the Pottery Gazeste,
who arnuses himself by col
Iecting deaths heads and skeletons, fan
tasticaily carved or modelled in marble,
ear then ware, wood, or precious stones.
These he has gathered together in kind
OF museum Of death, which at first sight
seems hideous, but on closer inspection
proves highly interesting. Some OF the
heads have been detached from those old
n.ed !seval rosary beads which were usual
~ ornamented Or one side with the pro-
hle OF king or q saint, and On the other
with the grinning lace of Il skeleton
TIE pedesta OF the Gutenberg statue at
Stras burg is a curious reminder OF his own
country TO the travelling American. There
are four bronze plates on the pedestal,
repres en- ting the four quarters OF the
globe. The American plate CONSISTS OF
some thirty figures, with Washington, La-
fayette and Franklin most prominent.
1!ae figures are evidently copied from
TrumbuA's ''Deelaration of lndepend-
nace,'' ss1aI the Strasburg designer seems
to have had no idea ct the relative inl-
chosen his 1nen solely for their physical
effectiveness. The result is that there
are al Strasburg bronze portraits .of Il
nuz1t>er of Americans who pobaoly never
nad SO much as q plaster cast Of them
selves set up st home.
In the Alps the population generally OBJ
in May) with church SERVICES and pious
manifestations, The superstition prevails
that the lightning d,1ring storms is the
sword of the avenging saint, aud that
damage wrought by the fury Oh the che
1nert is is the work of his wrath. The pce.
pie cling with fidelity TO this belief, and
always keep thear spring festival ard the
worship Of the sun, which is s}ie ancient
god Of light, who either blesses or curses
mankind, vino n2utters III the thunder and
plows the Garth with his sword that the
spring may bring forth fresh life and
beauty. Thus the church has clothed the
SUN in the shining mail Of the archangel,
and thus we see such radiance i'll the
pictures Of the saint which are tc be found
in European galleries and cathedrals.
TEE German Emperor still preserves the
cradle iii which, ninety years ago, his
mother Queen Louise, put him to sleep. A
aative journal says OF the aged ruler: ''fhe
only difference in the everyday life OF the
o]t' monarch is that lately he has grown
vary silent. Formerly he was fond Of tN1 !
ing part in light and humorous conYeTSass1
TON, and making now and then At uuiAtiI
poinssd remark. Even now his 5sasns asn eg SXSts XtS
huror IS still as keen as ever} Hy1aats Iis; Issiiss;
very rare that he himself joins an tESEA3k:
saoiou Of this kind. Formerly WKE{ !!
SONS fron, his surroundings apY!1hSASXd4;
him ti1norous.y with some petiti9n toss sGe-
quest, he used 1c encourage them loy{ Say.
ING III the regu &c Berlin dialect Ma, den
schiessen Sic 'n1al los!' {'Now, then. fire
away!) leaning back in his chair and
listening with smiling attstl1ion.''
In obtaining the vast ana rich domain of
Bu.mah the English Government has
come into posses ssion, among other natural
treasures, Of immense forests Of teak,
which, never very plentiful in India, was
becoming commercially quite rare, and
trial 1rposcs. Of all the woods grotyn in
the East This has been prom ounced as, in
some respects tn, most valuable. This
superiority consists in its being neither
too heavy nor too hard; it does not warp
nor split under exposure, no matter how
prolonged to heat or danlpness: it con-
tains an essential oil which possesses the
rare property OF preventing the wood
from rott ing under wet conditions. and, at
the same time, acts as q preservatave to
iron, and repe's insects; it is, in addition,
handsome wrod, of several varieties Of
color and grain. and takes a good polish.
WRITERS from Paris say that detached
houses are rare and space is utilized to the
last extremity. The majority Of the bed
rooms are little more than cells sand
w:chesi together as closely as possible.
The parlors and reception rooms are gen
orally spacious, sunny and comfortably
furnished, in 8. style suggestive OF faded
grandeur-,ickety inlaid tables, eld-fash-
ioned crystal chandeliers i'll decay, faded
damask draper;es and the eternal giided
clocks and candelabra, which ought to
have place on the coat of arms Of France.
The effect is not bad, for the wall paper is
light and gay. the rugs are fair and the
plaster ornaments on the ceiling are picked
out with gold A piano gives voice to the
room and iardinieres with plants, never
absent in the Paris house, gives it life.
The whole has touch OF the smart, gay
stvle that characterizes every thing in
Paris high or low.
BY means OF new canal, Water commu-
u1cat1on between the Caspian and the
Baltic has been greatly improved. This
canal joins the rivers Wyhegra and Kovja,